SOOJ Teachers . . .
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
NKJ Isaiah 52:7
There are many aspects to the Feast of Tabernacles, and one of the most important is that of receiving encouragement and instruction. Because Hebrew Roots fellowships are rather few and far between, for many people the festivals - especially the Feast of Tabernacles - are their only opportunity throughout the year to personally receive teaching from a person who understands the Bible from its intended Hebraic point of view.
In the days to come, The Mount of the LORD's House shall stand firm above the mountains and tower above the hills; and all the nations shall gaze on it with joy. And the many peoples shall go and say: "Come, Let us go up to the Mount of the LORD, To the House of the God of Jacob; That He may instruct us in His ways, And that we may walk in His paths." For instruction shall come forth from Zion, The word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
TNK Isaiah 2:2-3
From its inception, SOOJ has been blessed with numerous knowledgeable and dedicated teachers who have been willing to share their understanding of basic Hebrew concepts with those who are hungry for the Word of God. Many of those teachers had no formal seminary background; instead, simply had something they thought would be beneficial and asked to be able to share it with others.
This year (2024) we hope to expand the available teacher base by helping you become a teacher yourself! How? By participating in SOOJ's traditional Deuteronomy Reading. SOOJ has for years made the daily Deuteronomy Reading and Discussion a special part of the day. This year we want to emphasis it even more by making it the main point of the teaching. Why? Because we believe that interactive Bible study is one of the best ways to learn the intent of God's word; and preparation before the study causes you to do more than just read the words - it motivates you to look deeply into the intent of the words.
Patterned after AYF's weekly Torah study, the Deuteronomy Reading will be led by a moderator who's job it is to call on those who have signaled their desire to comment, keep the comments short and to the point, and avoid getting on a rabbit trail. Through the years, we've found that by being part of an interactive study, everyone tends to study the material beforehand so they feel confident to express their views. By this, we learn from each other.
Speaking Opportunities . . .
In addition to the daily 'Interactive' Deuteronomy Reading, SOOJ will be providing various 'Break-Out' sessions that will help you hone your Bible Study skills by sharing tips and points that have helped them in their studies over the years.. For those 'late night' Bible students, we plan to have at least three 'Midnight Midrashim' where the host can choose the topic of an interactive study, or simply take questions from the other participants. For the teens, we hope to have 'age specific' opportunities to teach practical living skills. If you would like to participate in any of these teaching opportunities, let us know.
Main Session Speakers - provide instruction and
encouragement by bringing out the message of the festival and the Kingdom of God as well as 'theme-specific' teachings that help those in attendance understand the purpose and blessings of the Hebraic walk. These are 1 hour sessions plus 15 minutes of Q&A afterwards. This year, there will be only three messages during the Main Sessions. The other seven Main Sessions will be interactive studies.
Break-Out Session Speakers - provide insight into a specific topic or skill. Examples of Break-Out sessions include how to use a specific Bible resource tool, how to tie tzit-tzit, or how you came up with a specific understanding of a Biblical topic or verse. These are 1 hour sessions plus 15 minutes of Q&A afterwards. This year, we plan to limit message topics to our theme.
Midrash Leaders - moderate a discussion of a specific Bible topic or a number of Bible topics. He may have a topic in mind that he would like to discuss, or may just take questions in order to get the conversation started.
Teen Midrash and Children's Crafts / Activity - If you have a topic or idea for a children's activity and would be willing to 'make it happen', we would love to hear from you.